Hong Kong Airlines signs agreement for 10 A380s: report

Hong Kong Airlines president Yang Jianhong confirmed the carrier has ordered 10 A380s. Mr Yang, quoted by South China Morning Post, stated the airline will grow its fleet beyond 30 aircraft by the end of year, following the addition of six A330s and eight A320s. The carrier is expecting to take delivery of more than one aircraft per month through 2015.

You may also be interested in the following articles...

During the first few years of the decade Hawaiian Airlines undertook a massive network expansion that included the addition of more than 10 long haul routes. With a few minor expansions Hawaiian efforts have been successful, reflected in the airline’s more balanced network that features some of Hawaii’s largest origin markets.

Hawaiian begins taking the next steps to fill gaps within its network in 2017. During the year the airline starts accepting deliveries of Airbus A321neos that allow it to serve smaller secondary markets in North America without degrading the company’s cost performance – which is proving to be a challenge in the short term. Hawaiian believes the aircraft is uniquely qualified to handle some of the operating conditions from the region’s islands to the US mainland.

Hawaiian embarks on 2017 enjoying a significant revenue premium above the US industry and the airline continues to strengthen its revenue management techniques to maximise product offerings, including extra legroom seating and new lie-flat premium seating on its Airbus widebody aircraft. The company is forecasting modest capacity growth for the year of 2% to 5%, the bulk of which is driven by new services to Tokyo launched in 2016.

The first commercial flight of the Bombardier CS300 on 14-Dec-2016, operated by airBaltic from Riga to Amsterdam, will be a major milestone for the Canadian manufacturer's new C Series aircraft programme. Three CS100 aircraft are already in service with SWISS, so the airBaltic flight will mean that both variants of the C Series are finally in commercial operation.

The programme is Bombardier's first wholly new aircraft development, aimed at the 100 to 150-seat market segment and offering advantages of fuel efficiency, cabin space, noise and emissions. Bombardier once targeted 2013 for entry into service, but has been dogged by problems and delays. In 2015, Bombardier seemed to have overstretched itself. The C Series received no new orders during the year and Bombardier was forced to seek investment from the Province of Québec to rescue the programme.

In 2016 the company has recovered to win a net 117 new orders, its highest annual total, bringing the programme total to 360. However, competition is cut-throat, with Airbus, Boeing and Embraer all having new developments of existing products in the same space as the C Series. Bombardier's breakthrough orders from Air Canada and Delta in 2016 required heavy price discounts.